"I'm in..."
"Great that is the spirit! Now, let's get going, it is getting dark."
They walked a few streets before they were back to the townhall but they didn't go there. Not far from it was a smaller building with the entrance labelled 'The guild center'.
"This where we gather and get our quests."
They entered and Aefrine took a wild look at the place. There was a lot of armoured people inside, some with weapons, some with not. There was a tavern on one side, where the laughter and giggles of people eating, drinking and telling bad jokes. On the other side was a welcoming window with a lady inside whom grumpiness competed with Elmo's. Next to the window, was a huge board, probably the biggest Aefrine has ever seen. Not like he didn't saw any boards before.
It was labelled 'Board of quests' .
"Come here."
Çetin pulled him to the window.
"The card..."
"Ok."
"Hello ma'am, I am here to register a new raider to my guild. The Valley of Wolfs guild. "
Aefrine wasn't really listening to the conversation. He was reading the many posters hung on the board of quests. All posters used an almost identical format: black and white picture of a place, or a drawing of a person under them were written either 'WANTED' or 'MISSING'. And each poster had a big number on bottom. It was the reward.
Three posters caught Aefrine's eyes because of their huge prize. The first was a 'dungeon' quest and with a drawing a huge cave.
What is a dungeon again?
It said that whoever clears the dungeon on the mountain of Klarm and removes all the dangers from it, collect its treasure and gives it to the requester will be rewarded five hundred duvats.
The treasure mustn't be too valuable if the money is supposed to be better...
However it also said it is recommended a B rank guild does the quest, no lower ranks allowed.
I wonder what rank is our guild..
He read it even further and found at the bottom left a small line 'request from : the Kingdom of Thacsia '
The next one was a 'finding' quest. It had a drawing of a woman with short hair and a butterfly comb on her hair. The quest said she is lost for a month on the Dahamas Islands .
I really hope they find her...like one month???
The reward for finding her body dead or alive will be rewarded with four hundred duvats. The good thing was that there was no recommended rank, so it was a free for all. The request was from 'Duke of Borkly".
So, people can make requests too not just the Kingdoms?
However the last one was the most interesting one. It had as a reward one million ducats. This one was serious . It was a 'bountry' quest. The drawing was of a scary helmet of a head.
The helmet had a domed, rounded cap made of iron, constructed from four iron plates riveted together. It also had a prominent, pointed nose guard that extends down the front, forming part of a "mask" shape. The eye area features a raised, almost eyebrow-like ridge making stare into Aefrine's soul.
'WANTED DEAD' ,a line that only made the poster more terrifying.
'Bloody Mary: a convicted serial killer. He or she is guilty of the murder of 72 high officials. Not much is known about him or her, as the only information available is that he or she uses a pair of swords and wears a full enchanted armour. As well as some people call her Bloody Mary, however there is no conformed evidence. He or she is considered as an A rank threat. Only B ranks and higher are recommended. The request: from the Ural Khaganate and the Kingdom of Thacsia."
Damn, two Kingdoms are after her head ??? She must be very dangerous. I mean...he or she...but isn't Mary a girl's name ? Well, I can't really see a woman in that helmet.
Suddenly, a hand patted his shoulder.
"Congratulations, you are now one of us. Already seeking a quest? It is still early for that my friend. Come,let me present you to the rest of the gang."
"Ok..."
After Aefrine got his ID card back, they went to the tavern side of the place. In a dark corner, two people were playing cards. A blond girl with a ponytail with leather armor was playing against a boy with hood covering his hair. Watching them while standing was a short younger in the distance also with a hood covering his hair holding a broom, another boy wearing silver armour gasping as if his live depended on it and finally a not-so-old woman holding on to her wooden staff. The boy was throwing cards aggressively and shouting stuff like "How is that?" or "Take that!" while his opponent was quietly taking away cards swiftly, not uttering a word.
"Final round!!!" Squeaked the man in silver armour. His voice was very squeaky-like , Aefrine wouldn't have believed it was his.
"You threw away your king ? How dumb can you be?"
"And the last card is the ace and I take it giving myself an extra point." Finally talked the blond girl.
"Whatever... let's count."
Both parties counted their cards so fast that Aefrine could barely see the cards being thrown back on the the table. Then, they stopped for a few moments. Until the girl spoke again :
"Three, one."
"Damn it, Afli! You lost to her by one point???" Complained the squeaky boy.
"Shut up, rat ! You are the one who dragged me into this."
"Stop calling me that!"
"What ? You want me to call you Arcangelo?"
"So, I would like a fine cup of Lillian wine, please."
"Oh, don't get so cocky, bitch. I wasn't really focused.."
"Yeah, exactly."
"Why, you-"
"Guys calm down, the game is a bit of a luck game, you know..."
Said the old lady trying to calm down the crowd with no avail.
"Guys, he is here." Interapted the short boy in the corner.
All of them stopped and looked at the two arrivals and stared.
"Good game. I guess. Anyway, here is our new member. Say, hello to Aefrine. "
"Hello, Aefrine ..." They all said with different tones.
"Hi..."
"Now, Aefrine, this cute but cruel girl here is Kate,she is a B rank..."
"Welcome to the team."
"Thank you."
So, this is my rival ?
"And granny here is Rose. She is a D rank."
"Nice to meet you."
"You too."
I thought she would have a higher rank . She seems too old for this job.
"That basterd over there is Afli. He is a C-rank. You better not befriend him though."
"Whatever..."
"Eh..."
What do I even say ?
"The rat over here is Arcangelo. He is a also a C rank. "
"Hello..."
"Hi.."
This is getting awkward .
"And lastly, we have little Nathan. D-rank"
The short boy with the broomstick didn't reply.
Aefrine gave a faint wave.
"What rank is this idiot?" Asked Afli.
"B-rank."
They all fell quiet for a moment. Afli looked quite frustrated while Kate gave a concerned look.
"Looks like you can't boss us around anymore, Kate.." Whispered Arcangelo.
The respond was a strong stomp on his left foot by her.
"Ow!"
"Anyway, girls we have a quest, let's get going."
"What about me ???" Complained Afli
"Yeah, you and the boys stay here. There is no need for you. It is just a D-rank quest. I only choose to teach this kid here, how we operate. Play cards until we come back."
"Hmph"
"Anyway, get your equipment. We will be waiting outside. "
Çetin put his arm around Aefrine's neck and pulled him away. He took him outside where the sunlight barely was visible and the shadows of the night have already spread throughout the land.
"So, how do you like them?"
"What?"
"Your new buddies."
"Oh,...they are nice."
"Ha! We will see about that. So, are tired or something? You just took your R.T.T hours ago, are you sure this won't affect you too much?"
Is he asking me or testing me? I mean I do feel quite dizzy but it isn't that serious ...
"No,no I am fine."
"Listen, I am just checking if you are not in your full strength tonight. So, if you pull up something impressive tonight, it will be actually impressive."
"Oh, well, then I am actually quite dissy from using ...too much phys magic...I think."
"Good, phys magic is probably the most important type of magic, and you don't seem to have a grip over it. You feel like you if you starting running away you wouldn't be able get far, right?"
"I suppose so ..."
"It is also good in combat as it may save you from a killing blow... "
"Yes..."
"Good thing, you won't need anything like that tonight."
He said winking with a grin. "I just want you to relax tonight. I want to see how you do when you take is easy. Got it?"
"Of course!"
This is getting weird...
The rest of the squad arrived. Kate was wearing some leather armour while Rose didn't bring anything new. But what caught the newcomer' s attention was a big dark-purple crossbow that Kate was carrying.
So,is that was I am facing with ? Well, it does look heavy to use...and she needs actual arrows from that shiver on her back so yeah...mine better.
"Let's go. "
They walked for a while towards the Eastern gate, the closest one. As they approached, Kate asked:
"Sir, you didn't tell us what the quest is about.."
"Ah, yes. Why you didn't ask sooner. Somebody got lost in the woods today and we are going to find him. The requester didn't say dead or alive, so let's just hope he is alive."
"Who?"
"A travelling orc. He was supposed to return by midday but it is already night and he is nowhere to be seen ."
"Is he average height, a big nose ...er..."
Asked Aefrine.
"Here is the quest. "
Çetin pulled out of his coat a piece of parchment and put it in Aefrine's face. Then he took it off and allowed him to actually see the quest.
That isn't Paul, thank God.
They reached the gates where the guards checked their ID cards and opened the gates for them. It was night time and the woods were dark, the soft disturbing sounds could be heard in the distance. Rose and Çetin was holding a lamp in their hand. They were similar to the one, Hans used to keep away small predators.
Hope it has the same function.
They climbed their way upwards away north. Aefrine definitely knew that they weren't searching near his R.T.T ground.
The place is too dark.. maybe my bow would help.
Suddenly, Kate and Rose both aimed their weapons at him but didn't shot.
"Calm down ladies, he has a glowing bow. Aefrine keep that away, it brings unwanted attention ..."
"Ok..."
But my bow barely gives any light, compared to your lamps it is a candle !...maybe he knows better...
They kept walking in the dark for a long time. Aefrine could swear he saw small dinosaurs around every corner. He was starting to think where would they even find the man. He just hoped he is alive somehow.
What could happen to him? He better not be eaten, the poor guy... how are we supposed to find a body at night ...
They reached a small river.
"Ok,guys split up."
"What?"
"Me and Kate will go this way and you and Rose go the opposite way. Usually, I go on my own but this time I want to see if you are competent on your own with a simple task. There should be a cave at one point in that direction. See if there are any signs in there. Take care of dear Rose would yea'h?"
"Ok..."
Now, it was just him and the old lady holding to her staff and lamp. She was struggling in the wild. He didn't seem to see well. She was shivering with every step that she took. Aefrine noticed this earlier but didn't want to question her. It would seem rude. He listened to her soul for a moment. It was full of disappointment and sadness. Aefrine really wanted to ask but didn't dare.
The cave that Çetin mentioned wasn't really that big but it did look deep. Aefrine wasn't sure though because the lack of light. Aefrine swiftly crossed the river and helped Rose. Despite that, she tripped on her last step and fell into the cold stream. Aefrine hastily pulled her out. But it was too late .
"Arrr!! Hahaha...my leg..."
"How is your leg ?"
"Haha, nothing, nothing."
"Rose, let me help you."
"I don't need help"
She took another step and fell down again.
"Oww."
"Rose, please..."
"I said I don't nee-"
"Aren't you too old for this job?"
She stopped for a moment before giving out a giggle.
"I have no choice"
"Why ?"
"I can't tell..."
"Please, I can help you."
"No, you can't..."
"At least, explain why I can't?"
"My niece..."
"What about him?"
"I am his only relative left. He is sick and can't get out of his bed. And of course, the only medicine available is beyond me. My small garden couldn't afford it. I got to get a lot of money someway..."
"Oh...OK. so, just stay here. I will check the cave and then once this quest is finished. I will give you the money. And you just go back to your garden, OK? "
"What ?"
"Like I said, I have a lot of money, once we finish this quest . I will you give the amount you need."
"But it is your money."
"Well, actually it isn't mine. I simply got it from a...friend ..but now I have a job I don't need it anymore. I think it would be much better with you."
"But you just met me...?"
"Yes, that was enough. Anyway, sit on this rock here, I don't really have anything that can warm you up so I will take a quick look inside and come back. If you want I can carry you on my back. Just let me check inside. "
He went running in order to investigate the insides in the shortest time possible.
"Wait!"
"Eh?"
He quickly went back to her. Tears began to fall down her cheek slowly.
"What is it?"
"run." She said softly.
"What ?"
She took him from his shoulders:
"RUN!!!"